Harold George Raggatt 1900-1968

Harold George Raggatt
was born at North Sydney on 25 January 1900. He had an elder brother
and three younger sisters. Though the family lived at Lindfield,
Harold Raggatt went to the Gordon State School where the headmaster,
known as 'Cocky' Fry, had a particular enthusiasm for English
expression which laid the foundation for Raggatt's continued emphasis
on the value of speaking and writing good English.

Raggatt's mother was born in Swansea, Wales, and came to Australia
with her parents; she was married in Australia. Wanting Harold
to become a scientist or engineer, she had him enrolled at the
Sydney Technical High School, a true secondary school which used
by day the facilities that the Sydney Technical College used at
night. He thus had access to the best high school facilities in
New South Wales, and on matriculation he enrolled for a science
course at Sydney University.

Mathematics, physics and chemistry were compulsory subjects: one
other subject could be chosen. Raggatt was influenced in selecting
geology by the reputation and personality of Professor Edgeworth David,
who however was then serving with the AIF in France.

Raggatt was so taken with the optional subject, geology, that
he made it his major subject. With one eye on his text books and
the other eye on the war news he did well enough in his first
year but, having in mind that his brother was fighting in France,
Raggatt enlisted in the AIF a few days after his eighteenth birthday
in January 1918. He went overseas in March 1918 with his unit,
the 13 Field Company Engineers, but by the time his training was
finished and he had reached France the war had ended.

In France he came into contact with German prisoners of war and
seized the opportunity to improve his already sound knowledge
of German. He could have gone on to Cologne with the Army of Occupation
or to Cambridge to complete his geology course. Instead he preferred
to return to Australia to resume his studies at Sydney University.

Arriving home in the second half of 1919 he was discharged only
in time to attend third-term lectures and, like many another soldier,
found it hard to settle down to the routine of undergraduate life.
However he graduated with First Class Honours in Geology in 1922,
and later in that year joined the New South Wales Public Service
as a geological surveyor. He was the first university graduate
for thirty years to join the Geological Survey of the New South
Wales Mines Department, which had a tradition that geologists
should be trained more or less on the job; it is not surprising
therefore that at first he was regarded with some suspicion as
being too academic.

In January 1927 Harold Raggatt married Edith Hellmers, a graduate
in geology who had been a fellow student at Sydney University.
Though they made their home at Epping, his work took him into
the field for long periods, particularly in the Scone, Muswellbrook,
Bathurst and Condobolin districts, and during the field season
the family accompanied him and lived in those towns. They had
one daughter, Marcia (now Mrs J.V. Lindesay), also a science graduate
of Sydney University, who has one daughter and one son.

For the Geological Survey of New South Wales Harold Raggatt carried
out field assignments in the districts referred to above: these
included systematic geological mapping in several areas of the
State, particularly in the Hunter Valley, Trunkey-Tuena district,
Condobolin, Cadia, Coonabarabran and Bobadah. His maps are amongst
the best examples of regional geological mapping within Australia
up to that time. It has to be remembered that aerial photographs
were not available then, and that geologists had to plot their
observations on parish and other maps and necessarily spent a
large part of their time in surveying work and in building up
their own topographic base map as they went along.

It was in the course of this field work that Raggatt developed
the love of field geology and the appreciation of the importance
of systematic geological mapping that always influenced his attitude
to mineral resources development. Twice during this period he
obtained leave from the Geological Survey of New South Wales to
carry out field assignments with oil exploration companies. On
the first occasion he undertook in 1925 a geological reconnaissance
of part of the Aitape district of the Mandated Territory of New
Guinea on behalf of the Pacific Islands Investment Company of
Sydney. During continuous field work from March to August, with
no reliable map of the area on which to base this survey, it was
first necessary to draw a reconnaissance map of the entire area.
The positions of the more important villages were fixed using
theodolite and star observations in conjunction with wireless
time signals for the determination of longitude. Intermediate
points were fixed by joint time traverses and occasional prismatic
compass traverses. Aneroid readings were used for altitude determinations.
This was one of the earliest geological surveys for oil in New
Guinea, and surveys have been carried on with greater or less
intensity ever since.

The second assignment, in which Raggatt was associated with Eric
Rudd and the late Dale Condit, was with Oil Search Ltd. in Western
Australia, when in 1934/35 a part of the Carnarvon Basin, then
known as the North-West Basin, was mapped. Because his interest
in the oil potential of the Carnarvon Basin was then generated,
this assignment was to have a far-reaching effect on the development
of oil exploration in Australia. This resulted in the selection
of this area for the Bureau of Mineral Resources' first programme
of systematic geological mapping after World War II. The establishment
of additional geological section in this area and also in the
Kimberleys, where work was commenced shortly afterwards, played
a vital part in influencing the companies which later became associated
as West Australian Petroleum Limited to take up prospecting permits
over the area and eventually to the drilling of the Rough Range
no. 1 bore, Australia's first real oil strike.

From June to August 1937 Harold Raggatt, with Ken Mosher as assistant,
made a survey of the geological features of the upper parts of
the gorges of the Chandler, Oaky, Styx and George Rivers. This
was made primarily to assist the State to choose dam sites and
sites for power stations. This was the first time that Raggatt
had used aerial photographs in a geological survey: he became
most enthusiastic about their usage in geological work, and about
the time saved in traversing and in plotting the results. It was
also one of the earliest occasions when geologists were able to
influence the selection of dam sites before design and construction
of structures were undertaken.

During his period with the Geological Survey of New South Wales
Raggatt was able to continue postgraduate studies with Sydney
University; he was awarded the degree of Master of Science in
1932, and of Doctor of Science in 1939 for a comprehensive stratigraphical
and structural study of the evolution of the Permo-Triassic basin
of East-Central New South Wales. Though his thesis was not published
it is one of the standard works on the geology of the Hunter Valley
area, and is very frequently quoted.

Before World War II the geological advice to the Commonwealth
Government was provided by the Commonwealth Geological Adviser,
a Commonwealth Oil Advisory Committee, and the Commonwealth Palaeontologist.
The Commonwealth Geological Adviser, Dr W.G. Woolnough,
was also an early pupil of Professor Edgeworth David. In 1939
Raggatt applied for the position of Assistant Commonwealth Geological
Adviser and was selected by Woolnough for this post; this involved
moving to Canberra. Dr Woolnough himself retired in 1940 and Raggatt
became Commonwealth Geological Adviser.

Almost immediately the wartime demand for strategic materials
emphasized the need for a comprehensive minerals inventory of
Australia, and Raggatt was able to assemble for this purpose a
small group consisting mainly of geologists from the New Guinea
and Commonwealth Services, geophysicists from the former Aerial,
Geological and Geophysical Survey of Northern Australia, some
Commonwealth geologists who had been working in the Northern Territory,
and the Comrnonwealth Palaeontologists. This group became the
Mineral Resources Survey (which eventually developed into the
Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics), and Raggatt's
title was changed from Commonwealth Geological Adviser to Director,
Mineral Resources Survey. In 1941 the group moved from the Department
of the Interior to the Department of Supply and Development, which
later became the Department of Supply and Shipping.

The objectives of the Mineral Resources Survey, as formulated
by Raggatt and approved by the Government, were the survey, evaluation
and development of the mineral resources of Australia, and, in
conjunction with other departments and agencies, to study ways
and means of utilizing those resources. Its immediate attention
was turned to the development of deposits of minerals required
in the Allied War effort, minerals that were in short supply,
or materials which formerly had been imported but which no longer
could be obtained from overseas. Intensive work was carried out
on a no. of deposits which were either being brought into production
or on which production was being increased considerably to meet
the wartime requirements.

This was important work: projects included the development of
Lakes Entrance oil, gas from the Balmain Colliery, the Arcadia
oil-bore, Leigh Creek coal, sources of bauxite, sulphur, fertilizer
minerals, mica, asbestos, fluorspar wolfram, tin, bismuth, mercury,
molybdenum, cobalt, zirconium and titanium minerals, antimony,
chromium, manganese, cadmium, and iron ore. The Survey was concerned
with the investigation of sources of these minerals to the point
where measures for actual production were to be undertaken: production
came under the Controller of Minerals Production, who worked closely
with the Mineral Resources Survey and indeed shared an office
and filing facilities with it in Canberra.

The Minerals Production Directorate was established in 1941 by
the Commonwealth Government which on 21st March of the same year
had set up a 'Copper and Bauxite Committee' 'to investigate the
copper and bauxite resources of Australia with a view to their
development'. Members of that committee were Sir Colin Fraser,
Chairman; Dr H.G. Raggatt, Vice-Chairman; A.J. Keast, M.J. Martin,
J.M. Newman and H.J. Horsburgh, with M.A. Mawby as Technical Adviser.
Under its auspices several reports were prepared, and early in
1942 its title was changed to 'Commonwealth Minerals Committee',
with functions ito advise the Government and the Controller of
Minerals Production on ways and means by which the output of strategic
minerals might be increased in Australia to meet the needs, not
only of Australia, but of the United Nations'. G. Lindesay Clark
joined the committee and was appointed Deputy Controller of Minerals
Production. Julius Kruttschnitt later became a member. This committee
appears to have been phased out during 1944, after it became apparent
that the Allies' foreseeable needs for strategic minerals were
assured.

Of the many activities in which Raggatt was involved as a member
of the Minerals Committee and as Director of the Mineral Resources
Survey, one that turned out not to be so successful is worthy
of special mention- the Lakes Entrance Shaft. During the war the
Government paid special attention to Australian sources of petroleum,
or petroleum substitutes, and every effort was made to investigate
potential local supplies including Lakes Entrance, the only place
in Australia up to that time where oil, albeit in small quantity,
had actually flowed to the surface. In 1941, on the advice of
the United States Bureau of Mines, L. Ranney and C. Fairbanks,
who were reputed to have expert knowledge of methods of developing
underground liquids by shaft sinking and horizontal drilling were
brought to Australia to investigate the possibility of production
by this method at Lakes Entrance. They strongly recommended that
a shaft be sunk and a series of horizontal drill holes be put
out from a chamber at the bottom of the shaft to develop the oil-bearing
bed: they estimated that by this means a recovery of 1,160,000
barrels of oil could be obtained, consisting of 15% light oil,
72% lubricating oil, and 13% bitumen. Raggatt, who at that time
had perforce to take risks, supported their recommendation, which
turned out to be unsoundly based. Not enough oil was present,
nor in fact had the technique or horizontal drilling under such
conditions been actually demonstrated to be feasible. The shaft
was sunk to 1,156 feet-very slowly, for a variety of reasons-but
was not carried to completion and no production was achieved.
The project was terminated early in 1946, the only tangible benefit
being a magnificent geological section through the highly Fossiliferous
Miocene sediments that overlie the oil-bearing sand.

After the war J.M. Newman resigned as Controller of Minerals Production
and Raggatt took over the position until the Directorate was wound
up. Previous to this, on 8th September 1944, a Mining Industry
Advisory Panel had been set up. consisting of H.G. Raggatts Chairman;
A.J. Keast, I.M. Newman, G. Lindesay Clark, G.B. O'Malley, F.B.
Brinsden, A.J.P. Walter, F.C. Smith M.L.A. (W.A.), T.M. Jude (A.W.U.),
with F. Canavan as secretary. Later the permanent heads of the
State Mines Departments were added to the Panel, whose terms of
reference were to examine all phases of prewar mining activities
(excluding coal and oil), the wartime developments, the current
condition of the industry and its problems, and to present advice
leading to a sound Commonwealth post-war mining policy. Amongst
its recommendations were that an Australian Mining Council comprising
State and Cornmonwealth Ministers should be created, and that
a Commonwealth Bureau of Mines should be set up. The first proposal,
although it received Ministerial approval, was not actually proceeded
with at the time. The second one included a recommendation that
Raggatt, together with J.M. Rayner,
then Chief Geophysicist of the Mineral Resources Survey, should
make a visit to the United States and Canada in 1945, largely
to examine the organization of the Geological Surveys and associated
agencies of those countries. Their report laid the foundation
for the setting up in 1946, instead of the proposed Bureau of
Mines. of the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics,
with Raggatt as its first Director. About this time-in May 1946-in
accordance with the wishes of his Minister. R.G. Casey, Raggatt
moved the headquarters of the Bureau and the Geophysical Sectionto Melboume, while the Geological Section remained in Canberra,
to which city Raggatt was to return in 1951 as Permanent Head
of the Department of National Development.

Although various attempts had been made to establish a Commonwealth
Geological Organization ever since Federation, now for the first
time the Commonwealth Government had a geological body with Raggatt
at its head available for ready consultation on mineral resources
and to promote its objectives in developing the mineral industry.
The Bureau, which was to become an established part of the Australian
scene, has played a major part in the geological mapping of Australia,
in the search for oil and mineral deposits, and in the expansion
of the mineral industry. It is one of the largest and most efficient
organizations of its kind, ranking with some of the major Geological
Surveys of the world.

In 1951 Raggatt accepted the post of Secretary of the Department
of National Development, though he felt some reluctance at leaving
the Bureau of Mineral Resources and direct contact with and participation
in geology. However he was not a man to let an opportunity go
by, and the possibilities of achieving the national objectives
as Secretary of the Department were obviously very much greater
than those which had been available to him as Director of the
Bureau of Mineral Resources.

Raggatt saw Australia as a country with great natural resources
and welcomed the opportunity to assist in the economic development
of those resources, particularly mineral resources. He was convinced
that geological conditions that were favourable for the deposition
of oil existed in some Australian sedimentary basins, a conviction
which had been confirmed by what he had seen in the United States
and Canada in similar structures. He was optimistic that commercial
oil would be discovered in Australia. He was one of the few geologists
at that time who held this view, and he held firmly to the belief
that the proper way to go about the search for oil was to start
with systematic mapping of the sedimentary basins to determine
the full stratigraphic sequence and the structures. He was also
aware that the search for oil in Australia up to that time had
been a somewhat haphazard affair and that drilling had not been
based on proper scientific investigation.

By this time the Bureau of Mineral Resources was well established
and had embarked upon its systematic surveys. However Raggatt
soon found that he had undertaken a still more difficult task
in trying to get the comparatively new Department of National
Development on its feet: indeed he comments about this period:

The Department had a very inauspicious beginning. Its functions
were ill-defined especially in relation to those of other departments.
Its possible incursion into the affairs of other departments was
viewed by them with considerable suspicion and there were many
who thought the department would be short-lived. I was shocked
to realise what I had taken on compared with what I had expected
Sir William Spooner, the new Minister, was
likewise somewhat dismayed. We had to accept that not only was
the concept of a Department of National Development rather difficult
to fit into the Commonwealth departmental structure, but we also
had to recognise the Loan Council procedures and the general financial
arrangements between the States, we had to recognise also the
sovereign powers of the States and the functions and capacities
of their departments and authorities. It is clear however, that
there are many aspects of development on which the information
available to the Commonwealth was deficient and that if the Department
set about establishing itself as an Authority on those matters
other departments would be glad to consult it and seek its views.
Inevitably also the Government would come to look to the Department
for advice on those matters.

The Department was not well equipped even for the limited roles
Sir William Spooner and I saw for it. It did of course include
the Bureau of Mineral Resources which indeed was the Department's
main strength. Some other branches were lopped off and gradually
it gathered strength, collecting information about resources and
producing specialised maps in an Atlas of Resources. We survived
the early days and began to prosper. Because our work in the resources,
fuel and power fields had become recognized the Minister was gradually
given the responsibility for those Commonwealth authorities concerned
with power, fuel and resources.

To its original responsibility for the Snowy Mountains Authority
and the Joint Coal Board were added Australian Atomic Energy Commission,
the Aluminium Production Commission (from the Department of Supply)
and the Minister became President of the River Murray Commission.
The logical corollary to the recognition of the Department's role
was that other agencies concerned with mapping and resources should
be transferred to the department and in due course we acquired
the Division of National Mapping and the Forestry and Timber Bureau.
The Northern Division was formed in 1963.1t was the first section
with a new kind of function which fits the pattern from now on.
It has a positive responsibility for development.

During his first years as Secretary of the Department, Raggatt
devoted a great deal of his time, energy and patience to the difficult
and delicate task of negotiating the Snowy Mountains Agreement
for the utilization of the waters impounded by the Snowy scheme.
He was Chairman of the Interim Snowy Mountains Advisory Council
from its inauguration in 1953. When this was replaced by the Snowy
Mountains Council he continued as Chairman until his retirement
in 1965. The Snowy Mountains Authority was responsible for the
construction of the Scheme, the Snowy Mountains Council was responsible
for its operation. He was Deputy Chairman of the Australian Atomic
Energy Commission from 1957 to 1965.

In the early 1960s one of his major interests was the establishment
of the Australian Water Resources Council, and from 1963 until
his retirement he was Chairman of the Standing Committee and ex-officio
Chairman of the three technical committees, on surface water,
underground water, and research and education respectively. Other
posts he held included membership of The Coal Utilization Research
Advisory Committee; The Council of the Australian Mineral Development
Laboratories and The Export Development Council.

In 1965, when an honour was bestowed upon him by Australian colleagues,
he said:

It happened that many things in which I was interested came to
fruition in the closing years of my public service - discoveries
of enormous quantities of bauxite and iron ore, large quantities
of manganese, the discovery of the first commercial oilfield in
Australia, the promise of large scale development of natural gas,
the setting up of the Australian Mineral Development Laboratories,
the Australian Water Resources and Forestry Councils and the National
Coal Research Advisory Council.

There have been generous references to my contribution to these
events. I am pleased to have had a hand in working out policies
and procedures which have led to some of them.

In the Department of National Development we have urged that the
Government contribution to discovery and the measurement of natural
resources should be basic and systematic; and I think we can say
we have been successful in convincing Governments that this is
the right approach. As a result we now have a complete air photo
cover of Australia, a nearly completed series of base maps at
1 :250,000 scale, a steadily growing series of geological maps
at the same scale, mineral statistics equal to those of any other
country; a plan, with finance guaranteed, to establish a basic
network of stream gauging throughout AustraIia in 10 years and
to increase the rate of assessment of underground water resources.
In all these undertakings I arn glad to say that the states are
our friendly partners.

Throughout all his demanding and wide-ranging activities Raggatt
retained a close interest in geology-both in its application and
in the teaching. He was a co-opted member of the Council of the
Canberra University College and in 1960 was elected to the Council
of the Australian National University.

Harold Raggatt was a member of the Geological Society of Australia;
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: the Royal Society
of New South Wales; Linnean Society of New South Wales; Society
of Economic Geologists; American Association of Petroleum Geologists;
Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of
Science, and the Royal Institute of Public Administration.

With a small group of interested stratigraphers in Melbourne he
was responsible for setting up the Australian Code of Stratigraphic
Nomenclature, and remained Convenor of the Committee established
first under ANZAAS, later under the Geological Society of Australia,
to administer the Code, until its use by Australian geologists
became firmly established. As part of this project he initiated
a scheme for establishing a stratigraphical index of Australian
geology. He always had some special geological interest and was
an active member of the Commonwealth Territories Division of the
Geological Society.

In the years 1946 to 1951 when he was living in Melbourne he spent
a considerable amount of time at weekends and on vacation studying
the Tertiary stratigraphy of southern Victoria and demonstrated
the importance of careful sampling of strata as a basis for the
determination of the stratigraphic ranges of fossil genera and
species.

After his retirement from the Commonwealth Public Service in January
1965 Raggatt continued to play a very active part in the mineral
industry. He accepted advisory positions with those Australian
companies and organizations where he felt he could continue to
make contributions in mineral exploration. These included the
Broken Hill Proprietary Co. Ltd. (mineral exploration), the A.M.P.
Society (mining investment), Ampol Exploration Ltd. (director),
and the Australian Atomic Energy Commission (consultant). When
the Australian Mining Industry Council was formed he was elected
its first Vice-President. He made two visits to Africa in a consultative
capacity on behalf of the United Nations, one to Botswana in 1967
advising on the Shashi River Development project and mineral development,
and the other to Ethiopia in 1968, advising the Government on
its minerals policy and the setting up of a Geological Survey.
The report he presented to the United Nations on his mission to
Botswana is regarded as something of a masterpiece. It was drawn
up on the spot. In 1965, at the invitation of the Chase Manhattan
Bank, he visited the U.S.A. to take part in a seminar on Australian
Development: many of the 200-odd American bankers and businessmen
assembled were frankly incredulous when they heard his account
of Australia's mineral resources.

During these very productive years before his death from a heart
attack on 2nd November 1968 he produced one book, 'Mountains of
Ore', an authoritative description of the history, economics and
present state of development of Australia's mineral deposits,
was compiling editor of another, 'Fuel and Power in Australia',
and worked on various papers and addresses.

In recognition of his work Raggatt received many honours. He was
awarded a C.B.E. in 1954 and a Knighthood in 1963. Elected a fellow
of the Australian Academy of Science in 1954, he served as Treasurer
in 1956 and Vice-President in 1956-7. The Australasian Institute
of Mining and Metallurgy elected him to Honorary Membership in
1961 and in 1965 granted him its major award, the Institute Medal,
for his outstanding contribution to the exploration and development
of Australian mineral resources. He was made an Honorary Member
of the Geological Society of Australia in 1964. In 1947 and again
in 1958 he was President of Section C (Geology) of the Australian
and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science.

Coming to more personal matters, Harold Raggatt was an impressive
man physically as well as intellectually, rugged of build, bright
of eye, suntanned, and in his later years crowned by a shock of
steel grey hair, he was alive and alert, acutely conscious of
what was going on, quick to laugh and ever ready to join in a
discussion. If there is one phrase to describe him best, it is
that he was a man of action: never could he be dull. As a young
man he played first grade tennis in Sydney; later he expended
incredible energy in geological exploration; and when the move
to Canberra came he gave the same detailed attention to his home
and garden as had brought success to his outback expeditions.
He and his wife had earlier designed their furniture; now they
planned and built their Canberra home, with terraces, hedges,
gardens and an orchard. Raggatt's powers of concentration carried
him through long hours of mental work: these domestic activities
he enjoyed - for him they provided the exercise and relaxation
that he needed.

Raggatt knew Australia as few know their country. He loved it:
his interests went far beyond his chosen subject, overlapping
into plant life, the birds and animal life of all kinds. He had
to be physically tough in the early years; strength of character
guided his later days.

In these later years his canvas broadened, but the inevitable
stresses never weakened his sense of values, his sense of justice,
his sense of fair play. He had to distinguish between the genuine
mining entrepreneur and the charlatan; he encouraged the former
and discouraged the latter, and he was so good a judge of character
that his decisions were rarely if ever astray. He became as well
known to Commonwealth and State Ministers as to geologists, mining
executives and bankers: they welcomed his advice, knowing it to
be objective and impartial. Naturally he formed and expressed
strong views, but his integrity was never in question.

People listened when Raggatt spoke: he could oppose a viewpoint
objectively, and with that sense of humour that checks the incipient
feud.

Raggatt was not a man to suffer fools gladly. Where praise was
due it was given, but where advice or criticism was necessary
it was also given, quite forcefully but with that touch of grace
that made the recipient grateful. His command of English was excellent:
he spoke with unusual clarity, had a flair for the picturesque
and the vivid, and could infuse just the right amount of lightness
into the serious debate.

One of his colleagues has said of him:

For all his achievements Harold Raggatt was a modest man, notable
for his infinite good humour, patience and cheerful companionship,
and down-to-earth good sense. He was a man of understanding, of
great integrity, and with a deep sense of the national interest.

Despite his heavy responsibilities Raggatt enjoyed life to the
full and retained a boyish enthusiasm to the end. He died before
he aged. Very few men are willing or able to embrace so many worthwhile
activities so effectively and with such enthusiasm and wisdom
as did he. Fewer still in any one generation have both the opportunity
and the capacity to serve their country so well.

Raggatt's wife and his daughter survive him. To them we extend
our sympathy, and hope that they may take comfort from his impressive
record of achievements, to which no doubt they contributed.

John Maxwell Rayner,
OBE, BSc, was Director of the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology
and Geophysics, Canberra, 1958-69 and Deputy Director, 1952-58.

Sir Ian William Wark,
Kt, CMG, CBE, DSc was a member of the Executive of CSIRO, 1961-65
and first Director of the CSIRO Chemical Research Laboratories
1958-60. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy in 1954 and was
a Counsellor and Treasurer, 1959-63.

This memoir was originally published in Records of the Australian
Academy of Science, vol. 2, no. 3, Canberra, Australia,
1972.